Mustapha Berraf published a letter addressed to the entire African Olympic Movement Saturday. The ANOCA president called on all stakeholders to commit to " for a fair and manipulation-free sport "A watchword: exemplarity.
« Our young athletes—the hope of tomorrow—deserve clean competitions, equal opportunities, and an environment that celebrates merit, talent and integrity, he wrote. We can no longer turn a blind eye to certain practices that tarnish the image of African sport: competition manipulation, favoritism, cheating, and especially age fraud in youth competitions. These abuses, although marginal, compromise the credibility of our sports institutions and destroy the trust of the public, partners and young people themselves. »
« Fair play is not an option : it is the soul of Olympic sport, the foundation of sporting dignity, asserts the leader; calling for the strengthening of control, training and awareness mechanismsLet us protect our young people from the pressure of cheating, guide them towards truth, honor, and excellence. African sport deserves to be respected, admired, and supported. Together, united under the banner of Olympism, let us make our stadiums, schools, and sports centers places where truth triumphs over fraud, effort over merit, and passion over cheating. This is the price at which sporting Africa will continue to grow, strong, dignified and respected.. »
In recent months, an investigation has been launched in Kenya into suspected match-fixing. In 2024, Cameroon suspended around sixty players for allegedly lying about their age.
